‘Legends Show’ to play Martinsburg Moose Lodge

March 7, 2013

MARTINSBURG - You can caste your line with confidence you will reel in a whopping good time Saturday, March 30, when you can hear Captain Chuck Fisher & The Legends Show perform beloved "oldies" at the Martinsburg Moose Lodge.

Created especially for the enjoyment and appreciation by the baby boomer generation, the group brings together works of great era-artists like Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Neil Diamond and Connie Francis, performing soulful ballads from days long past, odes to school-yard crushes and other innocent joys of youth now gone by.

Nonetheless, for Fisher, 63, and many other baby boomer generation members, which are people who were born at the end of WWII between 1946 and 1964, those days - what are considered kinder by most - have not been forgotten.

Nor has this era's music, which Fisher said was formed on both social and personal gratitude for peace and plenty after stringent, war-time frugality, as well as a positive attitude and expectation that the world would improve with time.

A former vocalist and guitarist for a top-40 show group that gained fame in the early 1970s, in order to care for his son, Fisher said he went on to establish a professional career as a Chesapeake Bay, Md., fishing guide.

After designing his own line of "striper" lures and traveling the east coast conducting seminars on striper fishing ("striper" is a term used to describe the Maryland "rock fish"), Fisher said he recently retired at which time he returned to his first love, which was music.

"The songs I perform have a meaning and a story," Fisher said about the "oldies" he performs, adding, "people remember exactly where they when these songs first played on the radio 50 years ago."

In recognition of these fond memories, Fisher said audience members typically will nod their heads and smile to one another, "remembering trying to scrape up $1.50 for two movie tickets," Fisher recalled prices for theater tickets nearly 50 years ago.

Captain Chuck and The Legends Show's performance is comprised of two forty-minute song sessions. The 1940s-style "dinner and a show" performance consists of seven entertainers who perform in the roles of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Neal Diamond, Patsy Cline, Connie Francis and others, as well as Fisher performing as country music greats, Jim Reeves and Willie Nelson.

"That's the attitude and 'heart' we want to remind people of happier, kinder, gentler times that were filled with music that was written from the heart with compassion," Fisher said.

Fisher said this is opposed to today's majorly curse-word-filled raps that clog the sound waves and other "soul-less" beats.

Fisher said though the music he performs dates back 50 years, Generation Jones' natural appreciation for the oldies he performs is not limited to the exclusion of the enjoyment that also is experienced at his shows by generations "X" and "Y."

He recalled a recent ship cruise to St. Thomas with his wife, Sarah, during which he said he performed karaoke for festive, family-oriented cruise-ship crowds, when a 20-something year old girl commented though she liked his music, she would not be considered "cool" by her peers if she were to admit that.

Nonetheless, Fisher said the girl offered a "stellar" performance of Frank Sinatra's "That's Life," which Fisher said, "knocked (him) over with a feather."

Fisher said he gave her his card and said if ever she wanted a job, to give him a call.

"As a musician for the past 45 years, I see society returning to its more conservative roots," Fisher said, adding today's music is typically filled with illicit sex and other heartless activities which have strayed from family values.

"Rather, back in my day, people were more innocent about love and relationships, writing notes to secret, school-yard crushes and dedicating favorite songs to them," Fisher said.

As a member of the Baltimore (Md.) County Department on Aging, Fisher said he hold the prestigious honor of being Baltimore's "Senior Idol" for 2011 and 2012. He performs up and down the Eastern Seaboard at Moose Lodges and for in-care homes for seniors, adding a group's ability or inability to pay for his performance does not necessarily determine his group's decision provide a performance.

Doors will open Saturday, March 30, at 6 p.m. at Martinsburg Moose Lodge #120 located at 201 Woodbury Ave. Tickets, which cost $25 per person, include a dinner of fried chicken, slow-baked roasted beef, potatoes au gratin, seasoned green beans, rolls and butter.